Thursday, October 14, 2010

Christian Schools' Textbooks Inferior: Supreme Court

On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court rejected the appeal of the Association of Christian Schools International who had sued the University of California when it refused to accept the high school credits of students in history, science, literature classes based on the standard curricula used in the Association's 800 schools.

The University of California objected to the credit as the courses did not meet their standards. In history classes, for example, students at the Association's schools were told the Bible is "the 'unerring source for analysis' of past events," according to one of the experts who testified against the association in the original 2008 lawsuit.

Several expert witnesses testified then that the Association's standards were woefully unacceptable and it was not surprising that the University of California prevailed. But the Association cried foul, claiming their students were being discriminated against because of their religious beliefs.

The justices, without comment, denied a hearing to the Association of Christian Schools International . . .

UC requires certain high school courses for admission and says it reviews their content to make sure they cover subjects that incoming students need. University officials said some of the Christian schools' classes in biology, history, English and religion didn't pass the test - a conclusion that the schools blamed on discrimination.

The association's 800 high schools in California teach "standard course content" and "add a religious viewpoint in each subject ... as an integral part of their reason for existence," the group's lawyers said in their Supreme Court appeal.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld his decision in January. A three-judge panel said the evidence showed that UC has approved other high school courses with "religious content and viewpoints," and classes that used religious textbooks, as long as they met academic standards.

The case is Association of Christian Schools International vs. Stearns, 09-1461.